Over the weekend, thousands of fans await their turn to enter KCON LA, held at the LA Convention Center from August 15-17. Aside from the much-anticipated K-Pop stages, one of the main draws for this year’s convention is K-Beauty. With its growing popularity in the US, KCON teams up once again with Top K-beauty retailer OLIVE YOUNG as they return as this year’s title sponsor, bringing 55 brands to the convention floor.
Taking over about half of the convention floor, OLIVE YOUNG FESTA transformed the space into Seoul neighborhoods in Korea: Gangnam, Hongdae, Myeongdong, and Seongsu. Once you step into this area, it feels as if you’ve been transported to Seoul, with endless booths as far as the eye can see. This year’s space is significantly larger than last year’s, making it feel less crowded and easier to navigate. The end result is a vibrant and lively area filled with mini games and photo ops.
Each booth has unique activations that attendees can participate in to receive products and deluxe samples. The four neighborhoods are divided into skincare, makeup, hair care, and wellness. In addition to the booths, there was an OLIVE YOUNG stage where attendees could deep-dive into skincare or scalp care mini-seminars with renowned esthetician Cassandra Bankson. K-Beauty brands like RoundLab, Biodance, TIRTIR, Dr.FORHAIR, and more, all of which can be found at OLIVE YOUNG FESTA.
This year’s K-Beauty set-up is my favorite to date, with how easy it was to navigate through and find the brands I’m interested in.
numbuzin and fwee stand out at KCON
Amongst all the brands presented at OLIVE YOUNG FESTA, two brands stood out: numbuzin and fwee. Under the parent company BENOW, both brands operate under the motto “You’re our philosophy,” putting consumers first when it comes to developing their products. Although the two brands target different demographics, each has a clear distinction in its own identity and strategy.
What numbuzin and fwee do best is prioritize their products over marketing; this builds trust with consumers. U.S. Strategy Division Director Connie Kim talks about numbuzin’s focus on clinical trials during our interview: “We’re very consumer focused. We listen to our customers, no matter what.” This explains why numbuzin has one of the highest manufacturing costs within its industry. “If other brands do seven clinical trials, we’ll do fourteen,” Kim also speaks about how the BENOW founder will spend 24 hours in the lab, all due to dedication to putting out the best product with the best ingredients.
At OLIVE YOUNG FESTA, numbuzin showed off their latest collection: No. 9 NAD+ Line. Dressed in a gorgeous purple, the line includes eye cream, essence, toner, face masks, eye patches, and sunscreen. Each product uses ingredients such as peptides and salmon PDRN to improve skin elasticity and the appearance of wrinkles.
numbuzin is a tried-and-true brand in South Korea, and had an early entry into the US in 2023. Now, you can find it at OLIVE YOUNG, Target, Costco, Amazon, Nordstrom, and TikTok Shop.
In cosmetics, fwee has had social media in a chokehold, with its viral Blurry Pudding Pot being one of the most sought-after items. At OLIVE YOUNG FESTA, fwee showcased some of their new products such as the Smoothie Tinted Lip Balm and 3D Volume Gloss.
fwee understands that a global brand must know its consumers. “fwee is all about fun colors and feeling your moment,” says Connie Kim. The brand develops unique designs and colorways for different countries and regions. “We have limited edition colors. The Japan edition, it’s all tea-flavored, like milk tea, rose tea, green tea. Busan is the Ocean City of Korea, so it’s all about water; it’s all cool tones.” For the US, the colors are more vibrant and have a larger shade range. Products such as lip liners and the limited edition Cola lip glosses were developed specifically for the US.
When it comes to numbuzin and fwee, their products speak for themselves. By focusing on ingredients and consumer feedback, the end result keeps the fans coming back for more.
